Since the first iPhone was introduced just over five years ago in the summer of 2007, Apple has been criticized by some for allegedly embracing product supply shortages to draw further media emphasis on huge demand failing to meet available supplies.

Regardless of the legitimate or contrived causes for supply shortages in the past, the expected limited inventory of Apple's next iPhone 5 could be a big help to shares of Apple over the long haul.

According to leading Wall Street analyst Rob Cihra, AAPL stock has recently performed 2.2 times better in quarters where iPhone supply was under stress. The leading analyst at Evercore Partners says this reality has been documented for the last three years.

The stock also performed 1.2 times better when the company’s management said the iPad was constrained. Incredibly, when both the iPhone and iPad were noted as constrained by Apple executives in the June 2010 quarter, the company’s stock price grew 26 percent over the next three months.

Proving his point, Cihra asserts that in October of 2011, when supplies of iDevices were largely plentiful, shares of Apple were flat.

People want what the can't have and Apple knows that. My iPhone 4 took a swim and is starting to give me problems. So I will be preordering one for me and one to replace my wife's iPhone 3GS. There is something elitist about having something first while others are waiting. I know that it is dumb and crazy...

I always compare it to a long line at "the popular club" There is plenty of room inside for all, yet the line is an illusion as to what is going on inside and who is in there. Same with the iPhone..mysticism mixed with quality software is what sells it. Not knowing draws big crowds..just ask P.T. Barnum "there is a sucker born every minute" in this case..millions hahaha..hold on..hahahahahaha!

The ones who will profit the most are the ones who are able to get some of the first lot of these new phones and then sell them for 3 or 4 times the price on eBay or CL, to other who want to be first but couldn't get in, and are willing to pay a massive premium.

People want what the can't have and Apple knows that. My iPhone 4 took a swim and is starting to give me problems. So I will be preordering one for me and one to replace my wife's iPhone 3GS. There is something elitist about having something first while others are waiting. I know that it is dumb and crazy...

that's not dumb or crazy, it is a natural human response, one I don't feel in this particular situation, but status is important to many people. THis is one reason apple sells so well (one of thousands). But none the less, people do want what they can't have.

Yall have fun on first launch(full of bugs) iphones I'm waiting for the next one 5x or whatever with all the knks worked out lol. I still run a iBook G4 technology is too expensive to have to have the newest and fastest! Just give me what works and does what I need done lol